


Don't worry, I won't stay (you told me good riddance anyway)

by AmberRunnel



Series: I'll be searching for closure forever [1]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Dead TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Implied/Referenced Abuse, Techno's not the best brother, ghostinnit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 04:27:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29895606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmberRunnel/pseuds/AmberRunnel
Summary: Tommy dies, and Techno says, “Good riddance.”It’s a cold thing to say, but it’s true. Techno doesn’t care for the kid who took what he wanted and gave nothing in return. Techno doesn’t care for the kid who created his own problems and always needed others to fix them. Techno doesn’t care for the kid he sheltered only to be stabbed in the back. He’s gone now, Phil will get over it, and the world will keep on turning without him.Tommy dies, and his ghost shows up at Techno's house in the dark of night.
Relationships: Technoblade & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF)
Series: I'll be searching for closure forever [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2198106
Comments: 23
Kudos: 405





	Don't worry, I won't stay (you told me good riddance anyway)

“Tommy’s dead,” Ranboo says, and Techno doesn’t understand the stricken look on his face.

* * *

Techno’s first thought is,  _ Tommy’s not dead.  _ Tommy’s never dead—the kid thinks himself the hero of the story, doesn’t he? Acts like it too, and heroes don’t die. Heroes don’t die, and  _ Tommy  _ doesn’t die. For all his recklessness and stubbornness and irrationality, things always work out for him. The kid’s taken on Dream, for ender’s sake, and come out of it triumphant no less. 

Tommy isn’t dead. 

Techno knows that with such iron certainty he doesn’t even entertain the thought at first. It’s unthinkable, after all. Someone like him doesn’t die. 

Tommy isn’t dead.

If he does die, he’ll go out with fireworks and explosions and a story to be told. He’ll claw right out of his role as Theseus, he won’t die in disgrace and despair like heroes do. He’ll die, and the world will miss him for what he was not.

Tommy isn’t gone. 

* * *

The look on Phil’s face is like it was after Wilbur’s death. There’s something more apathetic about it, though, more distant—as if Phil’s heart has already gotten used to the idea of his kids dying, and he’s tired of bearing the weight of their mistakes. 

Wilbur died beautifully and poetically, just as he wanted. He died cruelly, at Phil’s hand, just as he wanted. If Tommy’s dead, then he died quietly. 

It’s been a while, apparently, and Techno hadn’t heard of it until now. He’s grateful for that quiet death, for how it makes things easier for Phil.

Tommy’s dead, and Techno doesn’t care. No doubt he went out in some stupid, careless way, all his own fault. Everyone will grieve for him, everyone who cares will carry pain they don’t deserve to feel. Even by dying, Tommy has found a way to piss Techno off.

He isn’t surprised. 

* * *

Techno says, “Good riddance.”

It’s a cold thing to say, but it’s true. Techno doesn’t care for the kid who took what he wanted and gave nothing in return. Techno doesn’t care for the kid who created his own problems and always needed others to fix them. Techno doesn’t care for the kid he sheltered only to be stabbed in the back. He’s gone now, Phil will get over it, and the world will keep on turning without him.

Ranboo sees his apathy, and it shocks him. Ranboo’s thoughts are always written on his face, always painted in his different-colored eyes. They say,  _ why aren’t you upset?  _ They say,  _ don’t you care?  _ They say,  _ Tommy’s your brother. _

Tommy is not Techno’s brother. He gave up that right long ago, and he’s been another threat like everyone else for years now. 

Techno places his hand on the table and moves on.

* * *

Hours later, in the dark of night when Techno is alone in his house amidst a snowstorm, he hears a voice.

It’s a familiar voice, it’s an empty voice, coming from everywhere and nowhere at once. “Techno?”

It’s Tommy’s voice.

Techno grunts from where he’s sitting in the half-light. “What do you want?” he says gruffly, heart sinking as he braces himself to deal with the annoying, chaotic, destructive kid again. All his golden apples will disappear, surely, along with his pearls, potions, everything he’s so meticulously organized—Techno already sees himself cleaning up Tommy’s mess, wishing people didn’t come back as ghosts. He doesn’t deserve to have to deal with Tommy, especially now that he’s gotten himself killed.

Ghostbur was bad enough, an echo of Wilbur that haunted Phil constantly. Tommy will be worse, Techno can already feel it. “What do you want?” he snaps again when the silence persists.

“To say goodbye.”

Tommy’s voice isn’t right at all. There’s something in there that speaks agony, sorrow, regret, and Techno picks up on it immediately. He stands up and looks around, eyes flickering amidst the darkness. “Where are you?” he asks, and his voice is wary now.

“Right here,” Tommy says from behind him, and his voice is a little more real.

Techno’s eyes fall on the ghost of his dead brother standing in his kitchen, and his heart stops.

* * *

Techno remembers days when they were still a family. 

He remembers chasing Tommy around with a practice sword when Tommy was young, he can still hear Wilbur playing his guitar to lull the kid to sleep, he can still see the gleam in Tommy’s eyes when they promised to take on the world together. 

The ghost facing him is not that person anymore.

Techno can barely see the cold, dead color of Tommy’s skin through the blood that’s frozen down his face, poured like paint across his forehead and down his cheeks. His hair is no longer a faded blond; it’s damp and soaked with blood. His nose is broken, his cheek is caved in, bruises color his neck and arms, his fingers are broken and crooked. 

Techno has seen war. He’s seen ugly and brutal things, he’s  _ caused  _ them—and when he looks at Tommy, he comes close to throwing up.

“I heard what you said to Phil, Niki, and Ranboo,” Tommy said, voice empty. “‘Good riddance’, right?” He turns away, and Techno sees that the back of his head is split like it was smashed against the ground. “I won’t stay. I just wanted to say goodbye to my brother.”

“Tommy,” Techno whispers.

Tommy meets his gaze, and suddenly, he’s not the annoying kid anymore. He’s the kid that showed up at Techno’s house freezing and half-dead, begging for shelter. He’s the kid that was curled up in a box shaking with terror, he’s the kid that had his home destroyed, he’s the kid that watched his brother fall to madness. He’s the kid Techno chased around with a sword, who couldn’t sleep at night without Wilbur singing him a song, who liked listening to music discs and could make anyone laugh with his blunt humor and infectious energy. 

He’s Techno’s brother. He’s dead at sixteen years old, in a way more awful than Techno can understand.

“What happened?” Techno whispers, voice imperceptible.

The look Tommy gives him is one of betrayal, of disgust. Death has taken more from him than life, it has taken energy and spirit and the light in his eyes. It’s taken his humor and his wit, it’s taken his heart. “You don’t care.”

“I do—” Techno tries to say. He almost says,  _ I’m sorry I didn’t understand. _

“Good riddance, right?” Tommy says again. “It’s different now that I’m actually here, isn’t it?”

“I’m sorry,” Techno pleads, and his voice catches.

“You wouldn’t care I was dead if I looked normal, would you?” Tommy said, voice empty. “You only care because it’s this way. You only care because I was beaten to death in a prison cell begging for help.” He looks down at his bloodstained hands, a heartbroken look on his face. “Your name was one of the ones I called, you know? You and Phil and Wilbur...at least, when I could still speak. Dream got tired of hearing me cry after a while.”

“I…”

Techno has nothing to say. He hasn’t felt this kind of horror in a long time, and this…this is something he realizes he can’t swing a sword at and fix. This is something Tommy suffered and heard him react with apathy and cold amusement. This is something that can’t ever be reversed. Tommy will always be dead, and he’s never coming back. 

“I died like Theseus after all, didn’t I?” Tommy says, and there’s a finality to his tone that suggests it’s a farewell. “I’m sorry I wasn’t good enough for you.”

He sets something on the table beside him—a small emerald hung on a string worn with age. Techno’s heart twists when he recognizes it—it’s one of the emeralds he gave to Phil and Tommy as a sign of trust, a sign of family—and Tommy has just set his down with broken fingers and every intention of leaving it behind.

“Give it to someone you care about more,” Tommy says, voice hollow. “Hopefully, they’ll meet a better end than I did.” He turns away, head bowed and shoulders slumped, and then he’s gone.

He’s gone, and Techno screams with everything he has. “Tommy! Wait! Tommy!”

The silence stretches on, and Techno stumbles back in a daze. His hand comes up to his mouth to stifle a cry, but it’s too late.

The emerald is on the desk, and Tommy is dead. 


End file.
